Patterning devices for knitting machines

ABSTRACT

A patterning device for a circular knitting machine, comprising a rotatable support carrying selector members which co-operate with butts of knitting elements to select needles for knitting or other operations, each selector member being movable on the support between two positions providing for different modes of interaction with said butts. Prior to interaction with the butts, the selector members are positioned by selective interaction with one or more electromagnetically controlled cam surfaces which deflect the selector members from one position to the other or not, as desired.

United States. Patent [191 Maidens et al.

' [451 Dec. 25, 1973 PATTERNING DEVICES FOR KNITTING MACHINES Inventors: John Eric Maidens, Ansley Village,

near Nuneaton; Kenneth Alison Hartley, Coventry; Frederick Henry Carrotte, Kirby Muxloe, all of England [73] Assignee: Courtaulds Limited, London,

England [22] Filed: July 7, 1971 211 Appl. No.: 160,442

Foreign Application Priority Data July 17, 1970 Great Britain 34731/70 52 US. Cl 66/50 B 51 Int. Cl. D04b 15/74, D04b 15/78 [58] Field Of Search....' 66/50 B, 50 A, 50 R,

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 562,436 6/1896 Sturgess 66/50 B 594,353 11/1897 Moon, 66/25 X 3,422,639 1/1969 Saunders 66/25 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 283,291 1/1928 Great Britain 66/50 B 486,587 4/1970 Switzerland 66/50 8 Primary Examiner-Wm. Carter Reynolds Attorney-Davis, Hoxie, Faithfull & Hapgood 7 1 ABSTRACT A patterning device for a circular knitting machine, comprising a rotatable support carrying selector members which co-operate with butts of knitting elements to select needles for knitting or other operations, each selector member being movable on the support between two positions providing for different modes of interaction with said butts. Prior to interaction with the butts, the selector members are positioned by selective interaction with one or more electromagnetically controlled cam surfaces which deflect the selector members from one position to the other or not, as desired.

7 Claims, 12 Drawing Figures PATENTEDDEBZS m5 3.780.540

" SHEET 2 0F 2 9 v 42% D 45 45 (b) v Joni/Y E. Hnme/vs INVENTORS By D; A411; Jaw r al.

ATTORNEYSI PATTERNING DEVICES FOR KNITTING MACHINES 1 This invention relates to a patterning device for a circular knitting machine.

In circular knitting machines with independently operable needles, the needles are commonly controlled to cause them to knit or tuck, or to miss, by means of patterning butts which are arranged to cooperate with selector members of patterning devices. The selector members are arranged in positions corresponding to a desired pattern so that chosen selector members will engage associated patterning butts and locate them so that they bring about a chosen action of the needles controlled by those patterning butts.

For example, the patterning butts may be formed on jacks slidable in the needle tricks and each of which is rockable about a point on the floor of the trick intermediate the ends of the jack whereby a knitting butt located above or below the rocking points can project from the trick or be retracted into the trick according to the position of the jack in its rocking movement.

If a knitting butt is arranged to be projecting from the The jack can thus be caused to position the needle slid-' ably located in the trick above the jack so that the butt onthe needle will enter a cam track shaped so as to cause the needle to move in such a way as to carry out the action desired. If a knitting butt on a jack is retracted into the associatedtrick, the butt will not enter a cam track and the associated needle will not be positioned so that its butt will enter a different cam track or will not enter any cam track and the action of this needle will be different from that of a needle associated with a jack having a projecting knitting butt,

In some knitting machines, the selector members are constituted by patterning bits having the formof blades projecting from cylinders called pattern wheels, one of which is rotatably mounted at each feeder of the machine. During operation of the machine, the pattern wheels rotate so that different bits or bits spaces, that is spaces on the wheel where no bit is present, are presented to patterning butts projecting from the needle cylinder. If a bit is presented to a patterning butt it will press this butt into the associated trick causing the corresponding jack to rock and thereby retract a knitting butt on the jack or cause the knitting butt to project from the trick. 1

The bits on such pattern wheels are fixed and in order to change the pattern of the fabric knitted by a machine, a fresh set of pattern wheels with a different array of bits and bit spaces must be made. The present invention is concerned with a patterning device in which the selector members are movable so that they can be adjusted to programme the device for knitting different patterns.

A patterning device according to the invention comprises a rotatable support, selector members eittending from the support for co-operation with butts of knitting elements, each selector member being mounted on the support for movement between two positions relative to the support providing for two modes of interaction with the said butts, and'm'eans for moving each of the selector members between the said two positions.

The said means for moving the selector members may comprise a control member mounted for cooperation with the selector members as they are carried past the control member by rotation of the support, the control member being movable between a location in which it will not contact any selector members carried past it is one of the said two positions of the selector member on the support and a location which it will contact such selector members and will move them to the other of the said two positions.

Advantageously, the selector members are pivotably mounted on the support. A plurality of supports may be mounted one on top of another for rotation about a common axis in a frame suitable for mounting in proximity to the needle cylinder of a circular knitting machine. Each support may comprise a circular disc in which are radial channels each channel receiving one selector member. Each selector member may comprise a body having a blade extending from it and through an open end of the associated channel out of the disc and may be pivotably mounted on the disc by spigots extending from its body and located in apertures in the wall of the associated channel, that is the channel housing the selector member. The spigots may be located in the plane of the blade. of the selector member.

The control membermay be constituted by a resilient blade of magnetic material with a turned over end having a wedge shape, the blade being urged to one of the said locations by its resilience and to the other of the said locations by an electro-magnet, when the magnet is energized, the wedge-shaped end of the blade serving when the blade is in one of the locations to contact selector members in one of their two positions as they are brought to the blade by rotation of the support and to deflect them to the other of the said two positions.

The invention will be further described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a patterning device according to the invention in position on a circular knitting machine, only parts of which is shown,

FIG. 2 is a plan of one part of the device of FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is a section through the part shown in FIG. 2 taken along the line 3-3,

FIG. 4 is a view illustrating two positions which the selector members of the part shown in FIG. 2 can adopt,

FIGS. 5 (a) and (b) are respectively a side elevation and an isometric view of a control member of the device of FIG. 1,

FIGS. 6 (a) and (b) are respectively an elevation and a plan showing supports andprojecting selector members of the device of FIG. 1,

FIG. 7 is a circumferential section through a cam plate of the part shown in FIG. 2 taken along the line 7-7, and

FIG. 8 is a circumferential section through a cam plate in another device according to the invention.

The patterning device 9 shown in FIG. 1 is carried on a bracket 10 secured to the top plate 11 of a circular knitting machine having a cylinder 12. Tricks 13 on the cylinder wall house jacks l4 and above the jacks needles (not shown) for sliding movement in directions parallel to the axis of the cylinder. Each jack 14 has a patterning butt 15 which, in the present machine, may be located at any one of eight positions lengthwise of the jack. Each jack 14 also has a knitting butt 16 which is located in the same position on all the jacks.

Each jack 14 controls the action of the needle located in the same trick in the following way. Associated with each feeder of the machine are cam tracks arranged to receive butts on the needles to guide the needles to carry out a knitting action. If a needle is to miss at a feeder, that is, is not to. take yarn, then the needle is not raised and its butt is not presented to the knitting track through the cams. Instead, the needle butt is allowed to enter the cam system associated with the feeder in its lowest position in the trick. If, however, the needle is to knit, the needle must be raised to present the needle butt to the cam track which will guide it through the appropriate knitting movements.

IN some cases a needle will be required to carry out a tucking action and the patterning device will then effect a choice between tucking and missing. The tucking action is brought about by appropriate shaping of the cam track on the machine which cooperates with the needle butt.

The raising of the needle to present its butt to a cam track is brought about by the jack 14 whose knitting butt 16 is arranged to enter a cam track which raises the jack thus pushing up the needle above it until the needle butt is at the level of the entrance to the knitting cam track. The jack knitting butt 16 will enter the raising cam track if the butt is projecting from its trick as shown in FIG. 1. The back 14 has a rear edge with upper and lower portions 17 and 18 inclined to one another so that the jack is able to pivot, about the point 19 where the two portions meet, between two positions in one of which the portion 17 is flat against the floor of the trick 13 (as shown) and in the other of which the portion 18 is flat against the floor of the trick. If the portion 18 of the rear edge of the jack is flat against the floor of the trick 13, the knitting butt 16 is retracted into the trick and will not engage in the raising cam track but if the position of the jack is as shown in FIG. 1, the butt 16 will enter this cam track and the jack and the needle above it will be raised.

Before each feeder of the machine is located a cam (not shown) which causes each jack 14 passing it with its butt 16 in a retracted position to be pivoted to the position in which the butt-16 projects from the trick, that is to the position shown in FIG. 1. If, at a particular feeder, no raising movement of the jack is required, a selector member 22 on the patterning device 9 is arranged to act on a patterning butt 15 on the jack to push the lower part of the jack back into its trick and thus retract the knitting butt 16.

The mounting and mode of operation of the selector members 22 of the patterning device 9 will now be described.

The device 9 comprises a base 23 and a frame 24 between which is mounted an axis 25 parallel to the axis of the cylinder 12 (FIG. 3).

The axle 25 carries at its lower end a gear wheel in mesh with gear teeth 31 on the cylinder 12. Thus, as the cylinder rotates, the wheel 30 and the axle 25 are rotated in synchronism with the cylinder. Carried on the axle one above the other are eight discs 26 (FIGS. 2, 3 and 6) each of which carries twelve pivotably mounted selector members 22 which extend radially from the discs.

Each disc 26 comprises a cylindrical metal block into the upper face of which (FIG. 2) are machined twelve radial channels 27 to receive the 12 selector members 22. An annular slot 28 is also machined into the upper surface of each disc 26 and each selector member is mounted for pivotal movement on a disc by a pin 29 located in a hole extending through the selector member, the pin projecting at both sides of the selector member and the projecting ends, constituting spigots, being located in the apertures in the walls of the associated channel 27 which are formed by the slot 28. The axis of pivotal movement of each selector member lies in a plane perpendicular to the axle 25. pendicular to the axle 25.

As can be seen in FIG. 4, each selector member has a body 32 and a thin blade 33 which projects from the disc 26. The pin 29 is located in the body 32 of the selector member and passes through the centre of gravity of the member in the plane of the blade 33 so that the member will tend to remain in whatever position it is moved to in its pivotal movement. The body 32 has flat lower and upper surfaces 35 and 34, respectively, which come into contact respectively with the floor of the radial slot 27 and the lower surface of the next higher disc 26 or, in the case of the uppermost disc 26, the lower surface of a cap 20, to limit the pivotal movement of the selector member. Each selector member is thus capable of pivotal movement between two positions, in one of which the blade 33 extends horizontally from the disc 26 in a plane perpendicular to the axle 25 and in the other of which the blade 33 is upwardly inclined. These two positions are shown at the right-hand side and left-hand side of FIG. 4, respectively. When a blade 33 of a selector member is horizontal, the blade is in a position to cooperate with a patterning butt on the same level as the selector member by engaging the butt, but when the blade is upwardly inclined, the blade will interact with the butt in a different way and will clear the patterning butt as can be seen in FIG. 3.

Each disc 26 is located in a circular aperture 36 in an associated cam plate 37 (FIGS. 2 and 3 and 4). Secured to each cam plate at a position adjacent the periphery of the aperture 36 diametrically opposite the cylinder 12 is a control member 39 for adjusting the selector members of the associated disc 26 to the positions required for knitting a chosen pattern. The control member 39 comprises a resilient blade of magnetisable material clamped on the cam plate 37. The free end 42 of the blade 39 is movable up and down between stops 43 and 44 and has a tumed-over end portion 45 extending at right angles to the remainder of the blade. The por tion 45 is wedge-shaped so that it constitutes a cam for control of the selector members as will be described below.

The resilience of the blade 39 urges it upwardly to the location shown in FIG. 3 but the blade can be pulled down by energisation of an electromagnet 46 so that the blade lies flat against ,the upper surface 47 of the magnet. When the blade is in its lower location the portion 45 thereof lies in the path of selector members on the associated disc 26, which are presented to the blade 39 with their blades 33 upwardly inclined. Thus, if the blade 39 is depressed, when a selector member having its blade 33 upwardly inclined moves past the blade 39 in its rotational movement with the disc 26 and axle 25, the blade 33 of the selector member will impinge upon the wedge-shaped portion 45 of the blade 39 and will be urged downwardly as it slides over the lower edge of this portion. As can be seen in FIG. 2 in which the disc 26 rotates in a clockwise direction, a slot 48 is formed in the cam plate 37 immediately beneath the blade 39 to allow an upwardly inclined blade 33 of the selector members to be pushed down so that "the blades 33 are located beneath the plane of the cam as they rotate with the disc 26. Such blades ride up the bent-down portion 50 through a gap 53 in the cam plate 37 as shown in FIG. 7. FIGS. 7(a) and (b) each show a blade 33 approaching the blade 39 whilst located below the cam plate 37. Each blade 33 impinges on the bent-down portion 50 of the cam plate and rides up this portion so that the blade 33 is moved to its upwardly inclined position. Each blade 33 then moves over the land 54 between the portion 50 and the slot 48 in the cam plate 37 and thus approaches the blade 39 constituting the control member. In FIG. 7(a), the blade 39 is in its raised position, the electromagnet 46 remaining unenergised, and the blade 33 moves be-' neath the end portion 45 of the blade 39 without contacting it-and continues its rotational movement above the cam plate 37. That is the blade 33 in this case remains in its upwardly inclined position. In FIG. 7 (b), the blade 39 is in its'depressed position, having been pulled down by energisation of th electromagnet 46. The blade 33 thus impinges upon the wedge-shaped end portion 45 of the blade Y39 and is moved downwardly thereby throughthe slot 48 in the cam plate 37 illustrated in FIG. 6. In orderto simplify this figure,

some of the selector members are not shown but the relative angular displacement of corresponding selector members in successive discs 26 is clearlyshown.

In the patterning device being described, there are eight discs 26 each carrying l2 selector membersmaking 96 selector membersi'n all. The patterning butts on the jacks are arranged in groups of eight. Thus, the selector member 22A is located to cooperate'with a selector member on the first jack of a group of eight at the heightof the selector member 22A but it will-not cooperate with that selector member, which will have turned on away from the needle cylinder when this jack is presented for cooperation with the patterning device, but with the next adjacent selector member 22 in the uppermost disc 26 (not shown in FIG. 6). The second jack of this next group has a butt arranged for cooperation with the next succeeding selector member in the second uppermost disc 26 and so on. i r

In one revolution of the stack of discs 26, each of the 96 selector members 22 will be presented to a patterning butt of one of 96 jacks in the needle cylinder and will, according to its position, push the jack into its trick or leave it untouched. In its next revolution, the stack of discs will programme the next 96 jacks and so on around the needle cylinder.

As described above, the blade 39 constituting the control member is depressed by energi'sation of the electromagnet 46. In operation of the patterning device, pulses of current synchronised with the rotation of selector members 22 are passed through the electromagnet to cause the blade 39 to be depressed whenever a selector member is to be pushed beneath the cam plate 37 to its horizontal position in accordance with the desired pattern. I

The pulses of current may be derived from conventional circuits under the influence of signals which may, for example be recorded 'on magnetic tape or derived from a cinematograph film in known manner.

Since the rate of operation of the blade 39 constitut ing the control member may in practice be quite rapid, it is desirable to damp the movement of the blade. This can be down by forming a hole in the blade 39 and placing a drop of a viscous liquid (for example a silicone oil) in the hole so that it also wets the part of the plate 37 below the hole.

The circumferential section of FIGS. 8 shows the construction of an alternative form of cam plate 37 having two control members 39 and 61'. The control member 61 is of similarconstruction to the control member 39' and comprises a blade with a turned over end portion 62 having a wedge-shaped profile. The portion 45 of the blade 39 serves, as described above, to deflect blades 33 of the selector members through the slot 48 in the plate 37 as required. The portion 62 of the blade 61 serves, when the blade 61 is raised, in the same manner as the blade 39 when depressed, to deflect blades 33 of the selector members upwardly through a slot 63 in the plate 37 if the blade 33 approach the portion 62 below the plate 37. Thus, when the blade 61 is raised, this device acts in the same manner as the device of FIG. 7. When the blade 61 is lowered.v However, and'the blade 39 is maintained in its raised position any selector member blade 33 approaching the blades 61 and 39 above the cam plate 37 will pass them, unaffected, above the cam plate and similarly, any selector member blade 33 approaching the blades 61 and 39 below the cam plate 37 will pass them remaining below the cam plate.

Thus, a patterning device having-cam plates 37 as shown in FIG. 8 can be used in such a way that the blade 61 associated with each of the eight discs 26 is raised and the blade 39 is operated, on rotation of the discs, to place each selector member in the correct position above or below the cam plate 37 for knitting a desired pattern. When all 12 selector members on each disc 26'have been correctly located, the blade 61 lowered and the blade 39 is raised and is maintained in the raised position. Those'selector members located above the cam plate 37 thenremain above the cam plate and those below the cam plate remain below it. All 96 selector members are thus appropriately positioned for knitting a desired pattern which is repeated every 96 needles.

A machine fitted with patterning devices having cam plates and control members as described with reference to FIG. 8 can thus be used as ajacquared machine having unlimited pattern areas if the blade 61 is raised and selections are made by means of the blade 39 using signals from a magnetic tape or film. Alternatively, the machine can be used as a machine having a limited pattern area if the blade 61 is lowered and the blade 39 is maintained in the raised position. One machine can thus combine the advantages of a jacquard machine with those of a simpler machine which is set to knit a predetermined pattern.

What is claimed is:'

1. A patterning device for a circular knitting machine, said device comprising:

a frame;

at least one circular support disc rotatably mounted in said frame, said disc including structure defining a plurality of channels extending radially of said disc; selector member mounted in each of said radial channels, each selector member including a body member, a blade extending from said body member and projecting from said support disc for cooperation with butts of knitting elements of the knitting machine, and two spigots located in the plane of the blade of said selector member and extending on opposite sides of said body member, each channel-defining structure of said circular disc including apertures in which said spigots of a corresponding selector member are received for pivotally mounting said selector member in said channel so that said selector member blade is movable between two positions relative to the support disc whereby it can interact with the butts in different ways and control means mounted adjacent said support disc for selectively positioning said selector member blades, said control means including an electromagnet and a resilient control member blade of magnetic material mounted for co-operation with the selector member blades as they are carried past the control member blade by rotation .of the support disc, said control member blade being movable between a location in which it will not contact any selector member blade carried past it in one of the said two positions of the selector member blade on the support disc and a location in which it will contact such selector member blades and move them to the other of the two positions, said resilient blade being urged to one of its two locations by its resilience and to the other of said locations by the electro-magnet when energized.

2. A device according to claim 1, wherein said resilient control member blade includes a turned-over end portion having a wedge shape, said end portion serving, when the blade is in one of the said locations to contact selector member blades carried past the control member blade in the said one of their two positions and to deflect such selector member blades to the other of said two positions.

3. A device according to claim 2, including a cam located before the control member blade in respect of the direction of rotation of the support disc and arranged to deflect selector member blades carried to it in the said other of their two positions to the said one of their two positions.

4. A device according to claim 3, including a plate of annular configuration surrounding each support disc and having slots formed therein, said plate being located so that each selector member blade extends on one side of the plate when the selector member blade is in its said one position and on the other side of the plate when the selector member blade is in its said other positions, said cam and the control member blade being arranged to deflect selector member blades from one side of the plate to the other through said slots therein.

5. A device according to claim 2, including a second control member associated with the support disc for co-operation with the selector member blades, said second control member being movable between a location in which it will not contact selector member blades car ried past it in the said other of the two positions and a location in which it will contact selector member blades carried past it in the said other of the two positions and will move such selector member blades to the said one of the two positions.

6. A device according to claim 5, wherein said second control member comprises a resilient blade and includes magnetic material, said device further comprising an electro-magnet, and wherein said blade is urged by its resilience to one of its two locations and is urged by said electro-magnet, when energized, to the other of its two locations.

7. A device according to claim 6, wherein said resilient blade of the second control member includes a turned-over end portion having a wedge-shape, said end portion serving, when the blade is in one of the said locations to contact selector member blades carried past the blade in the said other of their two positions and to deflect such selector member blades to the second one of their two positions. 

1. A patterning device for a circular knitting machine, said device comprising: a frame; at least one circular support disc rotatably mounted in said frame, said disc including structure defining a plurality of channels extending radially of said disc; a selector member mounted in each of said radial channels, each selector member including a body member, a blade extending from said body member and projecting from said support disc for cooperation with butts of knitting elements of the knitting machine, and two spigots located in the plane of the blade of said selector member and extending on opposite sides of said body member, each channel-defining structure of said circular disc including apertures in which said spigots of a corresponding selector member are received for pivotally mounting said selector membEr in said channel so that said selector member blade is movable between two positions relative to the support disc whereby it can interact with the butts in different ways and control means mounted adjacent said support disc for selectively positioning said selector member blades, said control means including an electro-magnet and a resilient control member blade of magnetic material mounted for co-operation with the selector member blades as they are carried past the control member blade by rotation of the support disc, said control member blade being movable between a location in which it will not contact any selector member blade carried past it in one of the said two positions of the selector member blade on the support disc and a location in which it will contact such selector member blades and move them to the other of the two positions, said resilient blade being urged to one of its two locations by its resilience and to the other of said locations by the electro-magnet when energized.
 2. A device according to claim 1, wherein said resilient control member blade includes a turned-over end portion having a wedge shape, said end portion serving, when the blade is in one of the said locations to contact selector member blades carried past the control member blade in the said one of their two positions and to deflect such selector member blades to the other of said two positions.
 3. A device according to claim 2, including a cam located before the control member blade in respect of the direction of rotation of the support disc and arranged to deflect selector member blades carried to it in the said other of their two positions to the said one of their two positions.
 4. A device according to claim 3, including a plate of annular configuration surrounding each support disc and having slots formed therein, said plate being located so that each selector member blade extends on one side of the plate when the selector member blade is in its said one position and on the other side of the plate when the selector member blade is in its said other positions, said cam and the control member blade being arranged to deflect selector member blades from one side of the plate to the other through said slots therein.
 5. A device according to claim 2, including a second control member associated with the support disc for co-operation with the selector member blades, said second control member being movable between a location in which it will not contact selector member blades carried past it in the said other of the two positions and a location in which it will contact selector member blades carried past it in the said other of the two positions and will move such selector member blades to the said one of the two positions.
 6. A device according to claim 5, wherein said second control member comprises a resilient blade and includes magnetic material, said device further comprising an electro-magnet, and wherein said blade is urged by its resilience to one of its two locations and is urged by said electro-magnet, when energized, to the other of its two locations.
 7. A device according to claim 6, wherein said resilient blade of the second control member includes a turned-over end portion having a wedge-shape, said end portion serving, when the blade is in one of the said locations to contact selector member blades carried past the blade in the said other of their two positions and to deflect such selector member blades to the second one of their two positions. 